There has been known and used a plastic bag including an end surface provided with a spout. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 46082 of 2011 discloses an apparatus for successively making the plastic bags.
In the apparatus of the patent publication, first and second webs of panel material are superposed with each other and disposed along a vertical plane. The direction of length is horizontal in the first and second webs of panel material, but the direction of width is vertical. The first web of panel material is folded along a first longitudinal folded line extending adjacent to one side edge so that a first folded portion should be formed in the first web of panel material. The second web of panel material is folded along a corresponding longitudinal folded line at a position corresponding to the first longitudinal folded line. In addition, the second web of panel material is folded along a second longitudinal folded line extending between one side edge and the corresponding longitudinal folded line so that a second folded portion should be formed in the second web of panel material to be disposed along the vertical plane. Moreover, the first and second webs of panel material are fed longitudinally thereof and intermittently. A spout is inserted into an aperture formed in the second folded portion, the spout and the second folded portion being heat sealed with each other by a spout seal device, when the first and second webs of panel material are stopped temporarily. The second folded portion is then superposed with the first folded portion so that the spout should be positioned on the first longitudinal folded line and the corresponding longitudinal folded line. The second folded portion and the first folded portion are heat sealed with each other while the second folded portion and the second web of panel material are heat sealed with each other about the spout by a circumferential seal device when the first and second webs of panel material are stopped temporarily.
In the apparatus of the patent publication, a web of end surface material is formed between the other side edges of the first and second webs of panel material.
The apparatus can therefore successively make the plastic bags each of which includes the end surface formed by the second folded portion to be provided with the spout. In addition, the plastic bag includes opposite end surfaces one of which is provided with the spout. The other end surface is formed by the web of end surface material to make the plastic bag stand stably. The plastic bag is called a standing pouch.
However, the apparatus is problematic in that the first and second webs of panel material are disposed along the vertical plane and fed longitudinally thereof and intermittently. The direction of width is vertical in the first and second webs of panel material so that the first and second webs of panel material must be subject to gravity widthwise thereof. The first and second webs of panel material have therefore to be held conveniently and fed longitudinally thereof and intermittently not to misalign widthwise thereof by gravity, making the apparatus complicated in structure. In addition, the spout is inserted into the aperture with the second folded portion being disposed along the vertical plane. The spout and the second folded portion are then heat sealed with each other. The spout has therefore to be inserted sideways and then kept from dropping. The spout and the second folded portion have to be heat sealed sideways. As a result, the apparatus must to be complicated in structure to be high in cost. It is difficult to successively make the plastic bags at high speed because of structure of the apparatus.
In addition, the apparatus is arranged to successively make the plastic bags one by one. It is difficult to successively make the plastic bags two by two.
On the other hand, being not associated with the spout, Japanese Patent No. 3,655,627 discloses an apparatus for successively making plastic bags, in which first and second webs of panel material are disposed not along a vertical plane but along a horizontal plane and fed longitudinally thereof and intermittently. This feeding way of panel material is general, which has no problem of misaligning of the first and second webs of panel material by gravity. Japanese Patent Publication No. 4,402,872 also discloses an apparatus for successively making plastic bags, in which first and second webs of panel material are disposed along a horizontal plane and fed longitudinally thereof and intermittently. In the apparatus, a spout is positioned with and inserted into an aperture by difference in speed, but the plastic bag includes no end surface provided with the spout.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for successively making plastic bags each of which includes an end surface provided with a spout, by employing the general feeding way of panel material, to be simple in structure, low in cost and high in speed and to make it possible to successively make the plastic bags two by two.